Finally - the Sun

Jesus, Mary and Joseph it's been a wet spring. My backyard is practically a bog now and my fifty pound golden retrieve mix refuses to have anything to do with the squishy ground just off the back deck. There's just something about rainy weather that dampens not only the ground, but my ability to work and think. It's very difficult to get motivated when the rain patters down. What I really want to do is to curl up in the corner of the couch and read a good book - and not work on my own. Needless to say, this season has not been one of high productivity for me.

Yesterday, the hubster and I were invited to a July 4th cookout at a friend's house in PA. I thought, great, it's going to rain the entire time since NJ has been having afternoon showers daily to rival that of the Florida Gulf Coast. It's awful. However, to my pleasant surprise the sun made an appearance for most of the day, the breeze was cool and inviting. The steaks were succulent and the company awesome. All in all it was a perfect afteroon.

One that inspires ideas and jump starts creativity.

Over the past few years, I haven't really celebrated July 4th. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm either working at the hospital or we haven't been invited anywhere or our friends were busy elsewhere. The last time we did anything it was in 2000 when we went down to the shore, Wildwood, for a comic convention where my hubby and his friends had a table to hock their wares. That excursion brought me second-degree burns on my back and shoulders and unable to wear clothes for about 4 days. Happy times. Happy times.

That too was a gorgeous holiday weekend. Sunny, warm, beautiful. One for dreams and imagination. Back then I only dreamed of being published, sitting on the beach watching the waves curl in off the Atlantic. Now, I have numerous books published and many more under contract. And still the promise of a warm summer day brings with it hope, and dreams. Plenty of fodder for new stories and ideas.

So, I had better get cracking or I'll be next July 4th without much accomplished. But with any luck, and a whole lot of sun, perhaps those dreams and ideas will keep flowing.

-Kate